Rough Sundays

Rough Sundays—Vol. XCII

No way are we going to let an Easter Sunday get started without some proper old-school gospel music. From bellies of lead to the rise + fall + rise again of Ethiopian jazz, as well as the Queen of Soul (and New Orleans, for that matter), some Love & Harmonettes, Bay Area quartets and even a somewhat modern track. Have some Good Lord, you heathens, of all days!

Rough Sundays — Vol. XCI

Somehow and in some way, it's two shows in two weeks HALLELUJAH. Speaking of which, it's an old-timey gospel-heavy show this week, with quartets from the 40s & families from the 50s, plus French goodness from the 70s, boring Irish legends and even some highlife from Ghana. How do we do it? 

Rough Sundays — Vol. XC

Did you even notice the nine month absence? Lie and say "Yes". It's your favorite sporadic Sunday Morning wake-me-up program, back with five fantastic tracks to get you slowly up and moving. Cannonballs, a lady U2 adores, some New Orleans goodness, sad goodbyes and more—kicking it all off with some gospel from Curtis Mayfield. It's Rough Sundays! Hello again! 

ROUGH SUNDAYS—VOL. LXXXIX

Last show before The Big Trip and boy-oh-boy, did we break out the big guns for this one. Kicking it off with the Choir of Fire—with a subsequent story of a dear friend meeting the bandleader last weekend—to the great (or, should be) Dorthy Love Coates, some flugelhorn funk, reggae from the most-improbable place and much, much more. So you know the drill: Coffee. Sit. Listen. Happiness. It's Rough Sundays!

ROUGH SUNDAYS—VOL. LXXXVIII

Recorded from the Grand Ole Opry House (okay, okay, a hotel room overlooking it), the second of our two-part series dedicated to the goodness coming out of Tennessee, with a capella mountain gospel, the Empress of Blues, songs from prison, Satan-fearing brothers and, of course, some Big Maybelle. It's exactly 30 minutes of Sunday Morning Smokey Mountain scrumptious medley and it's all just waiting to be enjoyed SO DO THAT. 

ROUGH SUNDAYS—VOL. LXXXVII

From high atop the Smokey Mountains, it's the first of two Tennessee Specials! Kicking it off with a Negro Spiritual more than 100 years old, then moving through the gospel, bluegrass, country, fiddle and ending with the Queen of Soul... plus lots more. It's less than 30 minutes long—which is saying something as slow as things move around here—and it's probably the only podcast you'll ever hear recorded next to Dollywood while playing Dolly Parton THAT'S THE LEVEL WE PRODUCE enjoy, now, y'hear? 

ROUGH SUNDAYS — VOL. LXXXVI

Back to the roots—both of music and childhood—as we check in from Middle America, aka Tulsa, where fire and brimstone wouldn't be to far off the already scorching forecast. From old time gospel from the 1940s courtesy of "The Thunderbolt of the Middle West", to the lady who turned Bob Dylan onto folk singing, a founding group of Ethiopia's Golden Age of Jazz, one of reggae's most under appreciated + overlooked voices and a Miles Davis number you might not know, plus a hilarious story involving said Prince of Darkness and Oklahoma's infamous red dirt. It's 35 minutes of goodness, just perfect for making, waiting, pouring, waiting, sipping and finishing a coffee. Press play! 

ROUGH SUNDAYS — VOL. LXXXVV

Our final show from Japan and the second of two episodes making our way through the different decades—and the happenings and sounds therein—of this fascinating country. From shoegaze crooners to the ladies who launched City Pop, ska-loving boy bands and what can only be described as "Japan's Engelbert Humperdinck". So sit back, make a big cup of coffee (or sake; we don't judge) and let's travel both back in time, and to Tokyo...

ROUGH SUNDAYS — VOL. LXXXVIV

In the first of our two final (sniff) shows from Japan, we go back in time—tracing the sounds and historical happenings of Edo—dedicating one track per decade, starting from the smokey twenties and all the way up to the nineties. In this episode, we cover 1920-1950, from the dark corners of Tokyo kissaten cafes, to the jus post bellum tracks of the late 1940s, plus much more. It's 30 minutes of absolute goodness, and all from a country that specializes in it! 

ROUGH SUNDAYS — VOL LXXXVIII

Homeruns from Hiroshima, hip-hop and a Hall & Oates hybrid and that's just the alliteration accolades! From Southern Japan, it's another half-an-hour of a deep dive into the city pop, funk, doo-wop and soul from a 1960s-80s Japan. Good? Child, please. This week's show is GREAT. Hit play! Be happy!